Unite Union announced the result of the BAA strike ballot today in favour of a strike. Over 6,000 members of staff from Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports were balloted. 74 per cent voted in favour of a strike.

The strike comes over a disagreement over wages, Unite claim that the one per cent increase this year was miserly and unacceptable especially after staff accepted a pay freeze last year.

No dates have been set for the strike just yet, so no flights are currently affected. Rumours are that Unite want to take action as soon as possible however, which could mean disruption at the end of this month.

An update on the Unite website states: “Last year, in order to help the company, BAA staff accepted a pay freeze.

“The operator’s own recent admission is that aviation is making a strong recovery. In the first six months of this year BAA slashed its losses by 55 per cent and spending at its airports rose by 10 per cent.

“For BAA staff, inflation is five times more than the company’s pay offer, workers are also losing out on incentive payments worth £1,150 and BAA is refusing to listen.”

BAA claim in a statement on their website that they believe their pay offer is reasonable in the current economic climate and that the number of employees that did vote did not reflect the total number of employees.

Both sides of the dispute claim that they are open to negotiations.

What do readers think of the result of the ballot and the prospect of strikes? Will the threat put you off going on holiday abroad?